Four Types Of Love
by Mav13hat
Summary: Over the years, "love" has been forgotten until it appears within Yuko's life. The only problem...she loves four people: Yuto is always calm, a knight-in-shining armor. Yuri is the sly magician who'd cast love spells and curse his enemies. Yugo, the hyper explorer who always has her back. And Yuya, the fun joker, keeping her smiling. So many choices...and too many consequences.
1. Standing In The Rain

Even though their parents died from a car accident ten years ago, Yuko had her brothers. On that day, the oldest Sakaki, Yuto, held onto her small hand as the both of them attended the funeral in the rain. Along with everyone else, he was dressed in black, holding an umbrella and only stared at his parent's picture with eyes colored in anguish. Many had tears rolling down their cheeks, including Yugo and Yuya, who both clinged onto Yuri. Since Yuko was too young to understand, she gently squeezed her brother's warm hand.

"Onii-tan, where's mama and papa?" She asked, despite not realizing how Yuto stiffened. But he slowly kneeled down to meet her eyes and laid both of his hands on the five year old's shoulders.

"They're both in a happy place." Slightly smiling as he whispered in response.

"Can I go too? I want to be with them." The oldest brother looked away in grimace as another hand rested upon Yuko's head. She turned around to find Yuri with her other brothers sniffling while holding hands.

"You won't be able to see them."

Big wet tears began to form at the corners of her green eyes when she heard him. Eventually, Yuko began to bawl out of sadness like the rain that was pouring around them at the time. Out of fury, Yuto pulled Yuri by his collar, glaring with his steel eyes. But Yuya and Yugo walked over to their younger sister and encouraged her.

"Don't worry, we'll be with you." The youngest brother said as he gently patted Yuko's small back.

"Yeah! I will always protect you." Yugo wiped away the dripping pearls that rolled down her soft cheeks and made a bright smile.

Witnessing this, Yuto let go of his grip off of his second younger brother's collar and went over to Yuko to pick her up. He rubbed the girl's back with his gentle hands and whispered, "We will all be here for you."


	2. As The Years Drift On

Ever since, the Sakaki brothers did their very best to make their only sister happy. Since their father was famous at dueling, the Sakakis were able to live on with those savings. They would always spend their time to teach her to duel whenever they got the chance. All of them had their own special way of dueling, as well as their personalities. There were certain moments in their lives when they showed their differences, despite being family.


	3. The Knight

"What were you doing to my little sister?" Yuto quietly spoke, his voice laced with menace.

The bully pulled his hand up close to his ear and sneered, "Huh? What did you say? I couldn't quite hear ya."

"Don't make me repeat myself.'"

It was the first time Yuko had seen her brother act this way. This had surprised her so much that she even stopped crying and began to tremble in fear.

"I only won a duel and got her card, Saffira, Queen of Dragons!"

That had only made Yuto more furious.

"Do you even realize that dueling with the Ante rule is illegal as a student?" He glared at the bully with his steel eyes.

Behind him, Yuko tugged his sleeve and confessed, "He told me that if I didn't duel him, then he would throw away the bracelet mama gave me! I bet my card and he won."

"I challenge you right now." Immediately, the Sakaki activated his duel disk.

"Why should I?" The bully yawned, looking down on him.

"If I lose, you can have my rarest card. But if you lose, you give back the bracelet and Saffira to my sister and scram!" He challenged him.

"Fine, let's Duel!"

Yuto: 4000 LP

Bully: 4000 LP

"My turn! Draw!" The Xyz duelist skillfully drew his card and examined his hands quickly before declaring his move.

"I set three cards. Turn end." Yuko widened her eyes in shock in reaction to her older brother's move. She had believed that there was something wrong with him. Even the bully laughed at the Sakaki for conducting such an outrageous action.

"Is that really all that you've got?" Sneering, once again.

"Don't make me repeat myself. It's your turn." Her brother coolly replied as if there was nothing wrong with his style.

"Tch. My turn!" The bully drew his card and grinned wickedly.

"Hah! By sending one card to my graveyard, I can special summon Tricky!"

Tricky:

ATK: 2000

DEF: 1200

LVL: 5

"Then I summon Dark Blade in attack mode and use Heavy Storm to wipe out all of your set cards!"

Dark Blade

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1500

LVL: 4

A gust appeared out of nowhere and carried away Yuto's cards as if they weren't there at all. But the Xyz Duelist remained calm and didn't lose his composure. His behavior returned to his usual collective composure as if his rage went away. But it was embedded within his deeply within him.

"Here, I'll even give you a handicap, I use Give and Take. This summons the monster I sacrificed on your field and increases my monster's level by whatever level that monster was until the end of the turn. Revive, Granadora!"

Granadora:

ATK: 1900

DEF: 700

LVL: 4

An ugly lizard with numerous eyes in all sorts of sizes appeared on Yuto's side of the field in defense position.

Immediately, he gained 1000 life points due to its effect, but the wise Sakaki knew about its second effect. On the other hand, his sister trembled at how disgusting the monster looked.

"And now I equip the spell card, Bound Wand, to Tricky! My monster gains 100 attack points per level it has."

Tricky:

ATK: 2900

DEF: 1200

LVL: 9

"Now, I attack Granadora with Tricky!"

The lizard was destroyed upon the attack. Yuto maintained his composure as he took in 2000 damage to his life points. It didn't bother him at all because he knew that he would end it very soon.

"I attack you directly with Dark Blade!"

"Not so fast, from my Graveyard, I use my trap cards, The Phantom Knights of Shadow Veil! This allows me to special summon my cards as level 4 monsters in defense mode with 0 attack points and 300 defense points."

Yuto had waited for this. Three knights appeared on the field in defense mode, one of them soon to be slashed down by the blade of his opponent's monster. Instead of panicking as anyone would whenever their monster got destroyed, the Sakaki smiled. Yuko looked up at her brother in curiosity, thinking of what he would do next.

The turn ended with the bully setting one card down. He scowled when he missed the chance to inflict more damage to Yuto.

Yuto: 3000 LP

Bully: 4000 LP

"The requirements are met. I overlay my two level 4 monsters! Appear, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The bully stumbled as he witnessed the summoning of the oppressing dragon. Tears began to form from his eyes, widened with fear.

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon?! It can't be...you're that duelist from that league!"

Yuko couldn't believe at his reaction. Never once did she ever see the person who bullied so many kids at school act like this. Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Yugo Nii-chan, Yuri Nii-san, Yuya Nii! What are you doing here?" Her small voice quivered when she saw that both of her older brothers were grimacing. She took a closer look at Yuya, who was wearing his goggles and had his head buried in Yugo's back. The red haired Sakaki had been crying. The other two looked the same or even worse as Yuto, furious.

"Yuya told us that his cards were taken by that child over there. Did your's get stolen too?"

Shivering at how his formal manner sharpened his tone, she nodded slightly at Yuri. Her other brother's face twisted in fury as he saw his sister's response. Yuri and Yugo took out their duel disks and summoned their ace monsters. Their dragons appeared in a threatening fashion, corresponding with their owners' state of mind. Now Yuya and Yuko were both hugging each other out of horror from their older brothers' wrath. Meanwhile, Yuto kept his focus on his opponent while the bully finally managed to form words out of his pitiful mouth.

"Title-Holder of the Junior League Tournament, Yuto Sakaki! Runner-up of the same league, Yuri Sakaki! Champion of the Junior Turbo Duel Cup, Yugo Sakaki! You guys are all siblings?! " The titles were especially amazing since the oldest Sakaki was only 14 years old whereas both Yuri and Yugo were 13 and 11. However, since it came from the bully's mouth, it sounded like somebody was going to die by the Sakakis.

"Are you going to return what's not yours or face our dragons?" Yuri was smiling, but his magenta eyes glared with ulterior motives. It wasn't until a second later that the bully gave back everything that he took from Yuya and Yuko before running away like a coward. They smiled out of happiness when their belongings were returned. All three brothers deactivated their duel disks and the dragons disappeared upon their masters' action.

"Now you two, you guys need to tell us if there's a mean person like that! I don't know what I'd do if any of you were to be hurt." The Synchro duelist bent over to hug his younger siblings. Then Yuri murmured as he grinned wickedly, "Well I know what I'd do."

Before Yugo and Yuri got into another fight, Yuto stopped the two of them. Then he told his family, "Let's go home."

As they walked back home, Yuko held onto her oldest brother's warm hands. Even though the girl couldn't tell what he was thinking about for most of the time, she felt protected by his presence and loved.

 _And the silent knight protected his loved ones, especially his dearest, as he called upon his dragon. If anyone were to harm them, even he would show no mercy and slay all those who opposed him._


	4. The Explorer

One year before their parent's death, there was an incident changed Yugo. It was when the whole family decided to go hiking in the mountains. Their dad always said that new experiences gave you wider perspectives in life, so he forced them out of the house.

"But mom, I don't want to go!" Yuri complained as he scowled with his magenta eyes during the car ride to the base of the mountain. In response, their mom looked behind from the passenger seat and told him that it'd be fun exploring nature. But Yuri only got more annoyed with the fact of having fun outside. He hated getting dirty even as a seven year old.

As usual, the oldest brother peered out the window in silence, for he didn't like to talk much. In contrast, both Yugo and Yuya were very excited for this trip as they made a bet on who could find the bigger beetle. Yuko too, tried to join in the contest since she was closer to the two of them by age and played with them. But unlike Yuya, who was always nice to his sister, Yugo was actually sort of mean to her in the past just because she was a girl.

As soon as they arrived, the first ones to get off were the two younger brothers. As if their lives depended on it, they dashed off to search for the beetles. Out of concern, Yuto chased after his brothers and left the rest of the Sakakis back at the car.

"Ah, you three! Don't run off by yourselves!" Their dad hollered out. As he unpacked the bags, their mom told Yuri to hold his sister's hand so that she wouldn't get lost. Reluctantly, he held out his hand to Yuko who was looking at him with round eyes. Instead of holding his entire hand, she took hold of his pinky and smiled. Immediately, Yuri turned away to avoid looking at her because he believed his appearance was embarrassing.

After a while of following down the dirt path, the younger brothers came back with beetles in their hands whereas Yuto gasped for air behind them. They were holding as much as they could.

"Here, you can hold one!" The older of the two said to Yuko as he placed a beetle on her hand. She got so frightened that she let go of brother's hand and made a run to avoid Yugo. But of course, he wanted to scare her even more that he ran after her, calling her a "scaredy-cat".

Yuko didn't care where to go until she realized that her family was gone. Out of panic, the young girl dropped to the ground and began to cry.

"Oh, Yuko~"

She stopped her tears and looked up to find Yugo approaching closer. With the beetle in his hand, he was still trying to scare Yuko. But since he was reckless, the young boy tripped over a rock which caused him to push the two of them over the cliff that they were on.

"No!" Yuko heard a scream up from above and saw Yuri staring at her as she fell. Then all was black when she hit the ground.

Later, when Yuko woke up to meet her brother's teal eyes, he scowled out of annoyance.

"Because you're scared of bugs, we fell down here!" Yugo groaned. Right after those words, he gave out a low grunt as he gripped onto his leg. Not only was his ankle swollen from getting sprained, his knee was all scraped up with blood oozing through skin. Even as a four year old, Yuko knew that her brother was hurt. She softly put her tiny hands on his leg and began to cry.

"Why are you crying?" He spoke out of shock. Yugo didn't like seeing people crying, especially his sister.

"Yuko made Onii-chan hurt. I'm sorry! I won't be afraid anymore. I'll be good."

The young girl buried her head onto his chest without noticing how he quivered. Yugo had never realized how small his sister really was. When he took a closer look at her hands, they were also bruised and bleeding as well. For a four year old to not cry over her own injuries really made Yugo feel regret. To comfort her, he gently began to stroke her head and caress her back. They stayed like that for a while until she fell asleep within his arms. For the first time, Yugo smiled as he looked at how Yuko made a peaceful expression while she softly breathed in and out.

"Yugo Nii-chan, I love you." Yuko managed to whisper as she was sleeping. A wave of red instantly flared onto the boy's face when he heard those words. Something within him felt tingly and warm. Shaking it away, Yugo hugged his sister and slept along with her in the position.

"Mom, Dad! I found them!" Shouted Yuya, who discovered the two of them an hour later. The Sakakis followed after Yuya and were relieved as soon as they found the lost siblings. At this point, Yuko woke up and grinned when she saw everyone there. The young girl ran over to her brothers while their parents rushed over to Yugo, as he was injured.

"Do you still want to hold my hand?" Yuri asked his sister when she was hugging him.

"I want to hold Nii-chan's hand! Nii-chan's!"

"Nii-chan's?" Her brother replied questionably.

To prove her declaration, Yuko went back to the Yugo and held onto his pinky. Seeing her giggling and his brother's slightly shocked reaction, Yuri gaze darkened.

"I shouldn't have let go of her hand." He murmured quietly, so none could hear. His magenta hair flowed along the breeze as he turned around while he grinded his teeth.

Only Yuto noticed his slight change in behavior but ignored it later on. After walking back to the car, the Sakakis drove back home, tired from the long day.

 _And the explorer found a fragile yet precious treasure, in which he swore to protect from others. Even from a distance, he hopes that one day, he will be strong enough to snatch her away and soar the skies with clear wings._


	5. The Magician

One day, when Yuko was in middle school, she sprained her ankle. It happened when both Yuri and Yugo were arguing about who would take their sister to their next match. While Yugo was squabbling loudly, with a deep red hue reaching his ears, Yuri remained smiling at how pointless it was to talk to his brother. At that time, Yuko came into their room and immediately got elbowed by Yugo when he tried to hit his brother. Since their room was right in front of the staircase, she tried to hold onto the rail to avoid the long fall down. But because of that, Yuko landed in a strange position. Yugo instantly began to panic when he realized of what he had done.

"Yuko, are you okay?"

His sister nodded with a slight smile to show that she was. However, it was not the case when she tried to get up. Yuko flinched and fell backwards until Yuri caught hold of her wrist.

"What's going on?" The oldest brother asked, with frustration creeping within his tone. He had just arrived with Yuya at the scene where he saw Yuko with tears forming at the corners of her green eyes with Yuri grabbing her and Yugo still in front of the door all flustered.

And so Yuto carried his sister all the way to the sofa in the living room where he was followed by the rest of his brothers. After examining her foot, the oldest brother commented,"She sprained her foot. Judging by how it's very swollen, she shouldn't really walk around for the next couple of days."

Yugo looked down casted for he knew that it was his fault. Even Yuri felt some guilt for letting his idiotic brother harm his precious "toy" to get hurt.

So for the next few days, Yuko stayed home in her room in order to recover from her injury. Occasionally, all of the brothers would visit her and did whatever she wanted or not. The oldest would be the one in charge of feeding her, even though Yuko was old enough to feed herself. Yuya would always tell her what happened at school since they were in the same class. Since Yugo was known as an idiot and being clumsy, he just told his stories of all the victories he won in acceleration duels. As for Yuri, the crafty brother had something else planned.

"Hey Yuko, I'm coming in." He said, one day, as he walked into her room. Yuko was known to be a modest girl, compared to others. Her room was painted with a pale green shade and ornamented with all kinds of duel monster posters. She had a small desk that was right next to her drawer, opposite from where she was on her bed, reading a book while hugging her teddy bear. When Yuri came in, his sister put the book away and smiled at his arrival. He gave a plate that had a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of milk.

"Wow, chocolate cake! Thank you very much Yuri Nii-san." Yuko exclaimed gladly, while keeping her manners. Out of all of the brothers, Yuri was to be spoken with formality. There was Yuto, for being the oldest, but the brother didn't mind any rude behavior (with the exception of Yugo). If anyone were to anger Yuri though, there's "no guarantee living" (words quoted by Yugo himself, who had barely survived).

Bite after bite, Yuko began to feel strange, hot.

"Hey Yuko, you missed a piece here." Her brother whispered and he wiped off some chocolate cream near her lips with a napkin. But at this point, the girl was dazed. Without thinking, she began to stripped her clothes off and kick off her blanket with her good foot.

"Yuko?" Yuri stared at her questionably with his magenta eyes. He wasn't blushing at all, because there was nothing to be ashamed of in looking at his "toy". But the reason why he was confused was because he had never seen his sister act so indecently in front of him.

"Onii-san...I feel very hot.." Yuko panted out. By this point, her brother was seeing her only in underwear on her bed. That's when he decided to look at the cake he bought.

"..Alcohol? This cake had alcohol?" He said out loud after he reading the ingredients.

 _But shouldn't it be burned off when it was baked?_ The thought formed in his mind.

"Onii-san, hug me."

Yuri turned around to find his sister latching on to him. He barely reacted toward Yuko's unusual actions.

"I knew it...Your body's so cold!" Yuko purred into his ear.

Yuri couldn't take it anymore.

The brother pushed his sister onto her bed and was on top of her. He slid his chilled fingers down her body and Yuko gave a small moan. Then he started to kiss the nape of her pale neck and his sister flinched every time he did. While she was somewhat embarrassed from this, Yuri was enjoying himself. The teen was amused by the expression she was making, and how he was the only one who knew about her low tolerance.

"My, my Yuko. You look so pretty now, I wonder how much more beautiful you'll be when you grow up." He murmured before reaching in to kiss her on the lips.

 _Indeed, it is sweet._ Yuri thought as he tasted the faint chocolate from his sister's tongue.

But as soon as he parted, Yuko was already sleeping peacefully. Looking at this, her brother chuckled at how innocent his sister was. Before he left the room after he put back her clothes on (to avoid any misunderstandings), Yuri spoke quietly, "Next time, I'll pleasure myself even more, my little 'toy'."

When Yuko woke up, she couldn't remember what had happened after she ate the cake. All that was left was the bittersweet chocolate stuck in her mouth.

 _Although it was not intentional, the magician put a spell onto his doll and experienced a wonderful surprise. While he mused at her behavior, he can become hostile at those who would attempt to take away his doll and sadistically eliminate his enemies._


	6. The Joker

**Hey peeps! This chapter actually does have dueling, but only mentioning it because I don't know what deck Yuri uses in the actual anime. So sorry about that! But I'm planning to put in an official duel (somewhat non canon, making it take longer for me to think) in the next chapter. Please enjoy~  
**

"Yuya, Yuya! Are you listening to me?"

The boy looked up in daze when he realized that his teacher was talking straight at him. This made him overreact, causing him to stutter on his words when replying back. Once again, the whole class laughed at him. He scratched his head in embarrassment and managed to giggle it off.

"Anyways, two days from now, I would like for each and every one of you to bring your parents to school for Occupation Day. Our class will be sharing this event along with class 5-A. And now, class is dismissed!" His teacher ended the day as soon as the bell ringed. Yuya sheepishly stood up from his chair while taking his bag and walked out of the classroom.

 _Dueling Yugo-Aniki until one in the morning was not a good idea..._ The sixth grade student yawned as he went over to where his sister was at 5-A. She was standing outside the door, a shade of red coloring her ears as she was pouting. Yuya could see why.

"Hey Yuko! Let's walk home." But he called her with his usual manner and the two of them stepped out of their school together.

"So Yuko, is there something that's bothering you?" Yuya asked along the way. He knew that it was better for her to complain about it instead of plainly pointing it out. His sister rarely complained about anything, but this issue affected her the most.

"Yuya Nii...my teacher told me that I had to bring my parents. I know we had always relied on Shuzo Oji-chan as our guardian even though we don't live with them, but we really don't have parents, right?"

Yuya was exactly spot on. Growing over the years, he realized that having no parents really sucked. Although he had his brothers, they were always too busy either going to school or being at a tournament. But being the youngest of the family hit Yuko really hard because she barely remembered their mom and dad. Pictures were the only thing she used to reconfirm their existence.

"Hey cheer up! Even though Mom and Dad may not be here with us, you still have yours truly and our brothers." Yuko lightened up by a little when she was reminded of that. There was no denying that she loved each of her brothers equally because they were only family and stayed with her. But it was still not enough to make her smile.

"Tell you what, I'll tell our brothers about Occupation Day if you're that bothered. I'm sure that they would come for you." Although it had never happened with Yuya himself, he was fine with that. As long as his sister genuinely smiles, he would always be there to make sure she continued being happy. But Yuko slowly shook her head to his suggestion.

"Everyone is busy. They shouldn't miss school or any matches just for me."

And they finally came home after some silence of just walking. The two of them were greeted by Yuto, who was preparing dinner at the kitchen. On the floor next to him was Yugo, who was chopping some onions while complaining about how his eyes stung and tearing up. And at the living room, Yuri was sitting on his so-called "throne" of his while reading The Tale of Genji. Strangely, he was actually enjoying the book by the satisfied expression he was making. Yuko went upstairs first, while Yuya decided to see what his older brothers were cooking for dinner. They were preparing beef stew for all he could see.

After a few minutes, they all gathered around the dining table. Other than the stew, bread rolls with butter and garden salad was also served. As usual, Yuto was the best at filling up his siblings with good food. And of course, Yugo gave himself a huge serving and instantly began to chow down. But while everybody was talking about their day (with Yugo boasting about his victory in a duel and Yuri casting sarcastic remarks), Yuya looked over to his sister, who was considerably quiet. Although it wasn't intentional, she silently dismissed herself from the table with her meal halfway eaten in which created an awkward vibe among the brothers.

"Did something happen today at school?" The oldest brother inquired Yuya with concern laced in his tone. The other brothers were also looking at him as well, expecting an answer.

 _Should I lie? Or tell the truth?_

Yuya knew that his sister didn't want to bother her brothers, but at the same time, she wanted them to actually come. He realized that when he was confronted with the same situation, he would always lie to them but it would later on leave a bitter taste of loneliness. So the youngest brother believed that she deserved more.

"Well, in two days, it's actually Occupation Day for my and her class. Yuko felt down from the fact that she didn't have anyone to come for her." Yuya confessed while he shifted his eyes away from his brothers' glares.

"How come we never heard of this?" Yugo bumped the table, making the tableware rattle nervously.

"Well, I never wanted to tell you guys since all of you were busy. But in this case, I'd say Yuko is a lot more hurt than I was."

Silence permeated the room once more and the pressure was heavy on Yuya. Honestly, he was afraid of his brothers, each and every one of them. The fears contrasted differently among them but still ran chills down his spine. Then finally, Yuri stepped in.

"Haah...Why are all my brothers idiots? Yuto Nii-san has a bad habit of being blunt at times while Yugo is a total idiot in general." He sighed out of pity. Then Yugo began to yell in retaliation of the comment.

"How so?!"

"Well, you misunderstand way too often leaving you to jump onto conclusions and make rash decisions. Without even properly listening to the other person, you blabber on saying whatever the hell is on your mind. And you also can be forgetful, which leads you to making excuses all the time. Do I need to say anymore?"

Yuri completely shot the Synchro duelist down.

His brother sank back into his chair trembling in frustration of the humility he had felt.

"And finally, our youngest brother doesn't even tell us the truth! Even I can not fathom how I was able to live with you people for these 16 years of my life."

It was quite surprising to see Yuri all worked up over this issue. Nevertheless, he clearly managed to strictly point out the flaws within all of the brothers. Well except for himself, but everyone knew that he loved to treat everything as a game.

Then Yuto spoke as if he had finally made up his mind.

"Yuya, on that day, we're going to show up. All of us. I don't care what anyone says, but I will go there for you two. I promise." The other two brothers nodded their head in approval and the day ended with that in mind.

On the way to school, the younger sister sighed melancholically next to her brother. As expected, Yuko was very depressed at how she and Yuya would be made fun of for having no parents. But her brother stayed silent to not leak anything to her, for that day would be a surprise.

 _They're going to be late at this rate!_ Yuya thought when he was looking around the field for his brothers. Just for that day, both classes were gathered outside due to the lack of space for everyone who would be attending. And so far, there was no sign of them.

"Hah! Where's your parents, Yuko?"

The brother whipped around to find his sister being surrounded by three kids at her age. She was trembling because they were always mean to her.

"You leave her alone!" Yuya ran over and spread his arms wide out. He was not going to back down just from three measly kids.

"You're just the same! You two are both orphans, how pitiful!" The ringleader taunted Yuya with a sneer twisting his face. The brother felt his heartbeat grow louder within him and anger began to boil his blood. Yuya suddenly felt a fiery sensation, tempting him to _exterminate_ his enemy. But the violent impulse was stopped as soon as he heard a voice.

"Man, don't you kids know the rules in school that bullying is bad?" His brother shouted from a distance as he came closer on his D-Wheel for all to see. Yugo was right in front of Yuya, where the vehicle quietly groaned when put at a stop. Everyone was amazed at the sight of the abrupt appearance at the elementary school. But it didn't stop there. Yuto and Yuri appeared riding atop of their dragons and swooped down, safely landing to the dusty ground.

"Sorry Yuya, Yuko. We came kind of late, didn't we?" The oldest brother commented apologetically.

"We, as in Yugo made us come late because of his stupid bike."

"Don't call my D-wheel stupid!" The Synchro duelist yelled back with anger.

Then, Yuya's teacher cut in before the two of them got into another fight.

"Yuya, these are your..?"

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Yuto Sakaki, the oldest brother within my family. The one over there is Yuri and the one on the D-Wheel is Yugo. We're here for Occupation Day for Yuya and Yuko."

Murmurs went around among the children and adults.

"Those three brothers are champions in tournaments held in this city!"

"Most skilled duelists for their young age."

"To think that their siblings attend this school."

Yuko and Yuya felt a sense of pride tingling inside them. To Yuko, it was even more of a shock to her. Her wish was basically granted.

"To excuse our abrupt appearance, would it be fine to entertain our audience with a duel?"

All of a sudden, Occupation Day turned into an Action duel competition among the Sakaki brothers. Yuko just spectated along with the others because she didn't expect for there to be a duel that day. As for Yuya, he had always kept his deck with him to keep it within his sight.

The day ended with all five of them walking back together and reminiscing the duels they performed at Yuya's and Yuko's elementary school. Yugo kept on insisting for a rematch to Yuri because of how he lost while dragging his D-wheel along. And of course, Yuto remained as the victor among all of them while Yuya was the first to lose. He was down from how he lost, but Yuto complimented on his excellent Pendulum summoning, which made him a lot better.

"Umm..."

They all stopped their tracks looking at their little sister. She wanted to say something.

"Thank you! Today was the best day in school!"

Soon, everybody had a blush on their faces (Yugo being the most flustered of them all).

 _She is so cute. They all thought the same to some extent._

And to Yuya, she placed a small peck on his cheek and whispered her gratitude for telling the rest of their brothers for coming.

"Thanks Yuya Nii, I love you so much."

Yuya blushed even harder.

Then she ran ahead, waving at them to hurry up to come home. It was a wonderful day for the little girl.

 _With a playful heart and being the closest to his dearest, the Joker gave her what she wanted. To obtain her smile and laughs, he will do anything to have the show to continue on._

 **ACT ONE: CLOSED**


	7. Path

Winter break finally came where all of her brothers were allowed to gather home at the time time. Because of this, Yuko wanted to walk home with her brother Yuya, who'd usually walk with Yuzu, while his sister would walk with Sora, a duelist of the same grade. So after school, Yuko stood next to the school gates waiting for him. She felt a buzz coming from her bag, so she grabbed her light blue phone out only to see an incoming message on its screen. Yuko gave out a small sigh and began to go by herself, reading that Yuya had a theatre party. But to her surprise, she turned around to find Yuzu behind her.

"Something wrong?" She asked slightly concerned.

"No, I'm fine. Yuya Nii told me that we'd walk home together, but he forgot that he had a party."

"You Sakakis are inseparable. I bet you don't know how many fans you have," Yuzu winked at her. Yuko questionably stared back, not understanding what she meant.

"What do you mean? I have fans? I'm not even that great at dueling."

"Well...since Yuya's not here, I'll explain as I walk together with you."

Yuko nodded and so the two girls started to go back to their houses. The Sakakis were always close to the Hiiragis, even after Yuko's parents passed away. Shuzo Hiiragi acted as their legal guardian until Yuto was old enough to have a stable job. While being a dueling champion, the oldest brother was a teacher at Miami University. And ever since Yuri graduated right after with full scores and many scholarships, he was employed at Leo Corporation. Yugo was almost done with his college life while Yuya was having his last year as a senior in high school. Finally, Yuko attended school with just another year to go. But she never thought that she collected fans or was even popular.

"There's no way that's true. Sawatari Sempai doesn't like me." Yuko looked at Yuzu as if she was nuts.

"I also thought I was crazy, to think that **that** egoistical narcissist would actually fall in love. But knowing that he fell for you, it was likely."

They continued on near the riverbed where the sun glittered upon the water besides them. Although Yuzu explained as if it wasn't a big deal, Yuko of course, was shocked.

"And not only him, I can list so many more. Sora, Gongenzaka, Hokuto, Yaiba, Yuy-" She stopped herself. "Anyways, there are a lot of guys who like you."

"That's hard to believe...How come I never knew?" Yuko looked up to her.

"Let's just say that your brothers were dedicated. Like remember last year? On Valentine's Day?" Yuzu pointed out. The Sakaki nodded her head slowly when she remembered how dreadful it was.

Yuzu was laughing next to her until Yuko felt a threat coming from their rear. She made a signal for her to be quiet and indicated that someone was following them. The two girls made a run for it and finally entered an abandoned warehouse to hide from their stalker.

"Yuzu Sempai, could he be one of your fans?" Yuko whispered to her as they both were behind a container.

At school, Yuzu was a third-year student. But on television, she was a famous young duel entertainer. Under the title, Melody Diva, her fans continuously increased. Her sisters were also popular at their own expertise, so it would be no wonder if the stalker was just a fan.

"Who knows, we'll have to find out."

Slow footsteps echoed across the concrete floor and the girls saw a lean man wearing a mask standing at the entrance, and the only exit.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are. You can't hide forever."

Yuzu looked at Yuko, to which the Sakaki paused for a moment. She walked out from her hiding place.

"Who are you?"

"Well I can't tell you easily, can I? Beat me in a duel and maybe I'll tell you." The man activated his duel disk right after.

Seeing that she was cornered anyways, Yuko took out her duel disk from her bag and activated it as well.

"Duel!" They both said in sync.

Unknown: 4000 LP

Yuko: 4000 LP

"My turn! I activate the spell card, Heart of the Underdog. When I draw a normal monster during my Draw Phase, I can reveal it and draw another card. And then I set a monster and end my turn."

Two cards stayed on the field and it was now her opponent's turn.

"Draw! I summon Ancient Gear Hound Dog!"

Ancient Gear Hound Dog

ATK: 1000

DEF: 1000

LVL: 3

A ferocious mechanical dog appeared upon the field, growling towards to the Sakaki.

"Attack her set monster!"

The beast slashed her monster only to get deflected off.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but the Forgiving Maiden has a defense of 2000 points." Yuko smiled gently as her monster defended her from the threat.

The Forgiving Maiden

ATK: 850

DEF: 2000

LVL: 4

"But it's not over yet. I activate Hound Dog's effect! If there is a monster on my opponent's field, I can inflict 600 damage."

A burst of flame shot Yuko, causing her to flinch and stumble upon the ground. Even though it wasn't Action Duel, the sensation was real. From behind her, she heard a gasp coming from Yuzu. Yuko turned around and found two more people with masks seizing her.

"Yuzu Sempai!"

"We got her, so finish Sakaki Yuko off!"

Her opponent nodded and went back to his turn.

"I set three cards down and I end my turn."

Unknown: 4000 LP

Yuko: 3400 LP

"Draw!" She looked at hard card nervously and found it to be a normal monster.

"Through my spell card's effect, I get to draw another card after I show you what I got just now."

She showed her card, Lucky Trinket, and moved onto drawing her next.

"I activate Hymn of Light and sacrifice monsters equal or more than six levels."

Her eyes dimly glowed a hidden sapphire as her monster was sacrificed along with a card she sent to her graveyard.

"O beautiful royalty, awaken from your dainty slumber. May your elegance erase darkness and bring forth light upon this duel. Present yourself! I Ritual Summon level six, Saffira, Queen of Dragons!"

ATK: 2500

DEF: 2400

LVL: 6

A bright light engulfed the field and the dragon was summoned. Everyone there was astonished at how spectacular the moment was. With their guard down, Yuzu dashed out of the men's grip and ran for the entrance. Yuko's opponent attempted to stop her there, but Saffira stood in his way.

"Go, Sempai! They're after you!"

The twin tailed girl apologetically but quickly nodded and left with two others following her.

"Back to the duel, with my dragon's effect, I get to bring one monster from the graveyard to my hand. And since I didn't normal summon anything yet, I'll summon Absorbing Kid from the Sky."

ATK: 1300

DEF: 1000

LVL: 4

"I attack Ancient Gear Hound Dog with Absorbing Kid from the Sky!"

The monster flew up to make a dive towards the robot and destroyed it. Her opponent braced himself from the shock wave as his life points decreased.

"And when it destroys your monster, I gain life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. Now Saffira, attack him directly!"

The masked person was forced back again but he still kept his composure.

"That's all? As I thought, you're only but a little girl. I activate my trap, Ancient Gear Reborn! It allows me to bring back an "Ancient Gear" monster that was destroyed this turn with 200 extra attack points."

The monster revived and snarled at Yuko once more. But she had nothing to fear, since her ace was with her.

"Then I activate my other trap, Ancient Gear Spark Shot! When only one "Ancient Gear" monster is special summoned from my graveyard, I get to inflict half of its attack points to you."

Yuko stood still as her life points went down.

"I set one card down and end my turn."

Unknown: 1200

Yuko: 3800

"My turn! What a lucky draw...With Polymerization, I fuse the two Ancient Gear Hound Dog in my hand and the one on my field together! I Fusion Summon Ancient Gear Triple Bite Dog!"

The three dogs merged into into one, but Yuko reacted fast enough.

"I activate my trap, Bottomless Trap Hole! Any monster with attack points equal or more than 1500 is destroyed and banished."

A hole formed upon the ground and hands violently grabbed the monster into the pit.

"That's what I was going for. I activate my trap, Ancient Gear Rebirth Fusion! When an "Ancient Gear" monster I control is removed from the field by my opponent's card effect, I can Special Summon a Fusion monster that lists that monster as material. I summon Ancient Gear Ultimate Hound Dog!"

ATK: 2800

DEF: 2000

LVL: 9

A new robot was brought into the duel, more terrifying than the ones before. Her heart drummed painfully when she saw the robot. She shook the pain away and grimaced when she realized that she fell straight for his trap.

"When this monster is summoned, my opponent's life points are halved and I can attack three times during Battle Phase. I attack your monsters!"

The Absorbing Kid from the Sky was destroyed first and the monster moved onto Yuko's dragon. Flames began to consume their surroundings, side casualties that came from her opponent's attacks.

"From my graveyard, I activate the Hymn of Light's effect. By banishing it, Saffira's destruction is negated."

"But I have one more attack!" The man laughed darkly.

Her dragon cried out as it was hunted down by the mechanical hound. The wail echoed deeply within Yuko's mind as something began to click. The blazing hot temperature around them caused her to remember a memory. Something that she had forgotten long ago. A game.

With the last attack, Yuko's life points met their end. The shock wave forced her body to move backward as the warehouse started to break down around her. Her opponent panicked, but he walked over to take her. However, the ceiling broke down in front of Yuko, closing off any access to her. The man decided to leave her there to die in the burning building by herself.

The Sakaki remained on the ground, too weak to move. With all of the smoke everywhere, her conscious began to trickled away. But she was still focused on thinking about her memories.

 _That's right. I was in a dark room..Somebody brought me out of there. I remember...it was.._

"YUKO!"

...

"Why was she by herself?!"

"Knock it off! He had a party, remember?"

"But still-"

"Will you shut your mouth? Yuko's sleeping."

 _Eh? I hear voices...where am I?_

Yuko gingerly sat up from the hospital bed and found her brothers altogether. Yugo had his grip on Yuya's collar where the oldest brother was trying separate them. Only Yuri was able to notice that his sister had woken up and he smoothly smiled at her.

"Did you sleep well?"

It was then the others who noticed as well. Yugo was quickly pushed away by his younger brother who then rushed over to Yuko's side.

"I'm so sorry,Yuko. I should've just walked home with you. I'm sorry."

Yuya looked as if he was on the verge of tears and held her hand firmly while expressing his guilt. His sister shook her head, knowing that it wasn't his fault at all.

"It's okay, it happens. Is Yuzu Sempai okay?"

"She's alright. Yuzu managed to shake them off and went to our house. Thankfully, you were found and sent to the hospital on time. Your condition could have been much worse…" Yuto trailed off, keeping a grim face.

Yuri stepped in, approaching his sister with a different question.

"So? We heard most of the story from her, but who exactly were you duelling?"

"He was wearing a mask and used cards called 'Ancient Gears'." She replied back while recollecting her opponent.

Her brothers all expressed a slight shock and then a tart face. Yuko stared back with confusion to their reaction.

Yugo asked her, "But you are alright, right?"

"Yes, Yugo Nii-chan. I'm feeling alright. But I want to ask.."

"Ask what?" Yuya remained with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Can I participate in a tournament?"

"Eh?"

All of her brothers were stunned and speechless to her question. Then both Yugo and Yuri chuckled while Yuto sighed and Yuya smiled.

Yuri asked first. "But why? You don't need to be in a tournament."

His sister replied with more sincerity than ever, "I lost the duel to my opponent. I want to get better at dueling."

"Then which one?"

"The Miami Pro Tag Tournament."

"Can she, Yuto Aniki?" Yugo asked his brother for permission.

The oldest Sakaki paused for a moment and answered, "Yes, but under one condition. She can't use Ritual Summoning."

"Huh? Then what will she use?" Yuya seemed dumbfounded to Yuto's restriction.

"She'll have to choose who to teach her. After all, it's a tag duel tournament."

All of her brothers looked towards her, all eyes filled with expectation. Yugo was staring nervously and somewhat shyly. Yuya averted his eyes, reflecting his uncertainty and remaining shame from the incident. Yuto gazed calmly with his cool grey eyes. And Yuri glared at his sister with ambitious, put passive behavior.

Yuko knew who she wanted to choose.

"I want…"


	8. Author's notice

Ok...now about this story. After so many days of thinking and debating in my own mind, I finally came up with an idea. Sadly, it is something that you guys might not like. I only decided to make different routes within this story because, I wanted to write separate happy endings with each of the Sakaki brothers (like being in a mutual, romantic relationship). And no, IT'S NOT incest (I'll address that later in some of the routes). I've got it mostly figured out so I just actually needed to type it down. Suggestions will not hurt, though, cause I accept any type of advice and criticism as a beginner. So please enjoy, even if it's a short chapter.

Please keep supporting and next update will be on 01/02/16! I PROMISE!

Have a nice day~ :)


	9. The Knight's Story: Haunted Burdens

**Hey peeps! I kept my promise! Although I made it harder for me to come up with more ideas, I decided to just post this passage anyways. I'm not that really satisfied with it myself, but hope you enjoy it. And the ironic thing is...I had a fever myself. Sadly, no one took care of me! T-T**

"39°C...You sure screwed this one up."

Yuto grunted as he covered himself with his blanket once more. To his right was Yuri, who had the thermometer in his hand.

"You may be the oldest, but to jump in the river in the middle of winter was entirely stupid of you."

He remembered that day when Yuzu had suddenly came to their house, all in out of breath, where he heard the news from her that Yuko was in a dire situation. Without any second to waste, Yuto hurried over only to find that the building was engulfed in flames. He instantly dove into the freezing river near the buildings and ran inside to save his sister. The oldest brother was horrified to find her stuck under burnt debris but used all of his might to push them off. Yuko's cards were all scattered on the ground, to which Yuto was only able to take Saffira, Queen of Dragons and the Hymn of Light. Everything else was left in there to burn while he carried his sister out.

Moments later, the ambulance and firetrucks came with the sirens and Yuko was taken to the hospital. While waiting outside of the surgery room, Yuto remained sitting on the bench outside in the hallway praying that everything would be alright. The rest of the brothers as well as Yuzu came shortly after, but the operation was still in procedure. Yuzu began to cry since she knew that it was her fault to leave Yuko in the warehouse by herself. Yuya laid his hand on her shoulder to say that it wasn't, but Yuri stepped in to ask her what exactly had happened. The girl explained as best as she could though it was hard to understand between her sobbing. Based on her vague description on the men who attacked them, Yuto and Yuri completely understood how grave the situation was. They knew that Yuko was getting targeted once again, after all of these years…

"Doctor! Is she fine?" Yugo asked when the surgeon came out.

"Her operation was successful. She only needs a few days of resting and she will be fine."

The tension was released upon hearing the wonderful announcement. Yugo was so cheerful that he hugged Yuya and Yuzu altogether while Yuri sighed out of relief. Although it was indeed great news, Yuto had concerns of the assault. As soon as the brothers went back home, leaving their sister in the hospital along with Yuzu going back on her own, Yuto began to intensively research once again on the organization, Academia.

He had been doing this ever since his parents died from the accident, knowing fully well that it wasn't an accident at all. In fact, both he and Yuri knew partially knew about the truth that their parents had hid away from the family. Yuri employed at Leo Corporation to work with the president, Akaba Reiji, to gain access to confidential information while Yuto did his own researching at his workplace and at home finding out that Academia was a secretive group that was behind of many incidents around the world. He went on for many days and nights trying to draw connections with Yuko's incident with other notorious events, leaving him deprived of sleep. And after he was chosen to be Yuko's partner for the tag duel tournament, he went to go buy new cards to replace her deck, overexerted himself, collapsed, and which brought him into the current situation.

"But I've been wanting to ask you...Why did you restrict her from using Ritual monsters? And here, some medicine."

Yuto turned his back to reach over for the pills in his brother's hand and gulped it down with water.

"Yuko has a power...far more dangerous and powerful than all of us. And if I were to make conclusions, it'd be because of Saffira." His voice croaked from his sore throat.

"And just to be safe, you forbidden every Ritual Monster. While you are cunning, you still make stupid mistakes like this." Yuri sneered at his brother.

"Shut up."

"Alright, alright, Onii-san. I won't disturb your pleasant sleep." He stood up to leave and saw a deck on Yuto's desk. Yuri went through the cards and grinned.

"It's a nice deck. For Yuko?"

"Yeah, so stop touching it." Yuto replied, his voice muffled from his pillow.

The two of them heard the door being shut and Yugo's loud voice saying that he's home with their sister.

Yuri smiled and said, "I'll go give it to her right now."

But before Yuto could say anything back, his younger brother closed the door shut leaving him alone in his bed. He wasn't entirely immobilized, but the drowsiness slowly started to kick in from the pills he took. Yuto finally gave in and his eyes closed to sleep.

...

 _That day...I remember...it was raining._

He recalled the day of the funeral of his parents. Hiiragi Shuzo went up to him, holding a letter and saying that it was for the oldest Sakaki. Even though Yuto didn't shed one droplet during the ceremony, it was the letter that made him mourn.

Dear Yuto, my precious son:

By the time you're reading this, Mommy and Daddy are already gone. I know that you may already know this, but Yuko isn't your actual sister. She was the daughter of our good friend but we took her in as family when they lost their lives. And in our place, please protect her. I know that this is hard for you to take in, but your mom and I believe in you and your brothers. Make sure you take of of your siblings well. We love you so much Yuto. And know that we'll always be watching over you and your siblings.

Love, Dad.

He truly didn't want his parents to leave him to look after his siblings by himself. Even though Yuri was mature enough to help him, the oldest brother was distressed that he wouldn't be able to see their smiles anymore and experience those annoying moments with them. His parents, who went on occasional trips usually left him to take care of Yuri, then Yugo, then Yuya, and finally Yuko, who wasn't even blood related to him. Yuto was always, always left with big responsibilities that were all only meant for him. Of course, Hiiragi Shuzo would help from time to time, but in the very end it was him. Always him. Always the oldest to take care of his younger brothers and sister.

 _It's not fair! Why is it always me?! Why am I left behind to do all of this? Just because I'm born first? It doesn't make sense at all!_

Darkness was surrounding him. It was tranquil and soothing, keeping himself calm and apathetic. It was the state of pure nothingness.

 _Right. I don't need to do anything. I don't need to follow those expectations. I don't need to be forced at all._

But the it was actually consuming him, slowly and carefully changing him. It didn't take him another moment to realize the dangers he was putting himself into. Yuto began to panic and attempted to break free, ripping away the shadows that were wrapping around his body.

 _I need to escape! I can't be caught!_

Inch by inch, the shadows were being closer into engulfing him. Soon, he began to suffocate with it all around him.

 _I can't breathe..Someone help.._

"Onii-tan!"

 _That voice!_

Yuto finally opened his eyes and was panting in fear. To his side, he saw Yuko and realized that he had grasped her hand. He instantly embraced her, much to her surprise, all in order to keep his racing heartbeat down. After all, he was in a hazardous state of mind during his sleep.

"Onii-tan? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, but could you let me stay like this for few more seconds?" He whispered into her ear.

Yuko face reddened and she gave a shy nod.

The two remained like that until Yuto released her and left them in an awkward silence.

"Are you sure that you're okay? You looked like as if you were in so much pain in your sleep." His sister asked.

"I'm fine. Where's everyone else?"

"They're at the Hiiragi's to train."

Yuto looked at her in a puzzled expression, "Hiiragi's? Why?"

"Well, they wanted the sisters to be their partners for the tag duel tournament. Even Kurosaki-kun joined by saying that he would enter with his sister." Yuko explained.

"Then who's with who?"

"Yuya Nii went with Yuzu Sempai, Yugo Nii-chan is with Rin-san, and Yuri Nii-san, strangely, teamed up with Selena-san."

The oldest Sakaki could just imagine at the scene: Yuri and Selena arguing with each other, Yugo is 'brutally' beaten up by Rin, while Yuya is pelted with attacks by Yuzu's infamous paper fan.

"Yuri probably just wanted Selena as his partner because she's skilled at Fusion Summoning." Yuto suggested to her.

"Then what about Yuzu Sempai? Isn't she also good with it too?"

"Well, Yuri and Selena have always been good partners, just not friends."

"I see…" Yuko's voice trailed off. Her brother looked questionably at her reaction.

"Umm..I know that it may not be much, but I made some porridge for you if you're hungry." Yuko nervously showed the stone pot to her brother. He gently smiled and took her offer.

"Even though I can't really taste anything, thank you for making it for me."

His sister's face lightened up but went dejected right after.

"Even though you did it to save me, I'm sorry that you have a fever like this. And you even bought new cards for me.." She began to slightly tear up.

Yuto gently patted her head and whispered, "There's no need to cry. After all, what kind of a brother doesn't come to save his sister?"

Yuko stayed crying for minutes, burying her face in his chest. The brother rubbed her back like he always did and he smiled.

 _That's right, I really did forget. I was born first to protect my siblings. And given the chance to protect her happiness._

When she had settled down, Yuko was already sleeping his arms. Yuto knew that she must have been tired since she was only discharged from the hospital today. With his temperature down, he had enough strength to carry her over to her room and placed her onto her bed. He covered her body with her light blue blanket. Yuto kissed her hand and began exiting the room.

"Even if we may not be related by blood, I'll protect you no matter what. Since you're the person who I love the most." He whispered and then he closed the door.

Little did he know that she was awake ever since he had carried her over. Yuko was stunned under the covers, too shocked to think.

 _I'm not his sister?_

It was hard to tell if she was either hurt at the truth of happy because of it. Since, through many moments of her life, Yuko knew that she had feelings for the oldest brother. She hid them many times so that no one would find out this unrequited love. But it wasn't taboo anymore.

Yuko could love Yuto.

"Yuto Aniki."

"Yeah? Something in your head?"

Yuto, who was feeling much better than before, decided to stay up to continue his research on his computer. Yuya and the rest of the brothers arrived home not too long ago had already washed up and were preparing to go to bed. But in their shared room, Yuya was asking the oldest brother a question that was causing him distress.

"What blood type were our parents?"

Yuto looked at him strangely, "Dad was type O while Mom was type AB."

"Then why does Yuko have type O blood while the rest of us have A or B blood? I saw the information when we were at the hospital and I know I took biology seriously enough."

The older brother remained silent.

"Why didn't you tell me? Am I the only one who doesn't know?" Yuya asked quietly in a betrayed tone.

"I wanted to follow our parent's will, that we'd be family." He spoke, now facing towards him.

"You're just a hypocrite! Even I can tell that you love her. In fact, everyone in this house is in love with her. No one can deny that." He shuddered, frustrated at his brother.

"Yuko doesn't know anything, even my feelings and the truth. If she did, she wouldn't forgive me for the rest of her life." Yuto said with a sad expression.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Because I was the one...the one who killed her real parents." The oldest brother was gazing at his card, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, the beast that was beyond his control.


	10. The Knight's Story: A Silent Prayer

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I WAS TAKING A BREAK FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. This time, it's a first-person view from Yuto. Hope you enjoy! Read and favorite, follow, comment, or whatever you want to do~**

* * *

"Hurry up, Yuri! You're so slow!" _Shun yelled at him as he easily ran up the grassy slopes with me._

 _That day, twelve years ago, was only supposed to be just a regular adventure for us kids. Shun wanted to show me the haunted house that was on top on the hill behind our homes. There was a rumor going around at that time that a witch lived there since light would sometimes shine brightly from that house during the night even though no one lived there. Shun wanted to know if it was true, so he invited me to check it out with him. When my brothers heard about it, they were all excited and wanted to come along. My mom got the news too, but she only let Yuri and I go since Yugo was too sick and Yuya was too young._

"Come on! We're almost there!"

 _I kept on with a steady pace and finally reached level ground, the top of the hill. There were trees everywhere and it was possible to everything in town. My brother was still struggling with climbing upward and showed his frustrations through his expression when he did. There was no help to it, since he was the youngest of us three. Yuri collapsed as soon as he arrived at the top where we were in order to regain his breath._

"Yuto, there it is!" _Shun whispered as he pointed out the house._

 _It didn't appear haunted at all. It was in fact, a lovely white house with several blooming scarlet flowers surrounding its edges. The house was maintained fairly well, when I think about it, as if somebody did live there._

"Shun, are you stupid? Anyone can tell that there's someone in there." _My brother pointed out my exact thoughts. He got back up on his feet and patted down any dirt on him._

"That's why we came to prove it! So let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere, you brats."

 _The voice spoke out of nowhere. But before I realized it, Yuri and Shun were taken captive by three men in uniform. I screamed out of shock and tried to charge at them. I was far too weak, given by how I was simply knocked over._

"Kid, if you really want a fight, what about a duel?"

"Hey, we've got orders to secure the girl!"

"We got the time. Besides, it looks like the brat has some spunk."

 _I immediately brought out my D-pad and activated it to emerge as a duel disk. My thoughts back then were clouded, but even today I remember that I was filled with rage. There wasn't a moment where I hesitated in that duel as I only focused on saving my brother and friend._

"Attack, Dark Rebellion! Wipe out this scum's life points!"

 _With a screech, it defeated the man. But its rampage didn't stop there. I was told later by Yuri that I was blinded by rage and began destroying everything that was on the hill with my dragon. Even the house. Its ivory color soon charred with black and the scene was painted with fire. The men ran away seeing this happen, and Shun came to stop me while Yuri called for firefighters. After several minutes of waiting, water was constantly being pumped from the vehicles to kill the scorching flames. My berserk rampage stopped before then, but caused me to faint._

 _After I had woke up, I heard the casualty report from the adults. Apparently, a couple was caught in the fire and couldn't escape from its heat. I was shocked to hear that as in an instant, I realized that I killed people. Both of my parents and Shun's were there at the site to calm us three from the accident. As my brother and I were being embraced by mom, I heard a voice._

"Did you hear that, Yuri? It came from the house."

"What are you talking about? There's nothing there anymore."

 _But I was convinced I heard someone crying. I pushed myself away from my mom and ran towards where the white house had used to be and started digging through the blacked debris. Some firefighters came to stop me but also began to hear what I heard. They ordered for some crowbars to poke around and eventually found a hidden door on the ground. It took several pulls to lift the door open, but when they succeeded, the firefighters found a sobbing little girl. I personally reached for her hand and brought her out. She wouldn't let go, and fell asleep in my arms as soon as she held onto me. There was no source of identification on her, so my parents decided to take care of her as soon as she was discharged from the hospital._

"Mama?"

"That's right, I'm your mommy. And you're Yuko."

"Yuko...Yuko!" _She smiled at hearing her new name as Mom patted her head._

 _The girl didn't have any memories. So it became really easy to convince her that she was family, and that her name was Yuko. Only Shun, Yuri, and I knew the truth aside from our parents. As for Yuya and Yugo, they were told by Mom that Yuko was their cousin and should be treated as their sister. But they both misunderstood and solely believed that she was directly related to them._

 _Along the years-perhaps it's both Yuri and my fault-we all fell in love with her. I don't know how it happened. I tried my very best at being her older brother, distancing from her at times, but failed even today. Her smiles, her laughs, her existence became highly irreplaceable to me. It's dangerous though. I swore after Mom and Dad passed away that I would take care of my family...that I was to be a brother to them. Yet, I fell in love with her. Even when I have no right since I killed the couple who was possibly her real parents. I took everything away from her at such a young age. Yes, I may be researching the suspicious men who came that day even now, but there's no excuse in making a person live through a lie. And to fall in love with that same person..!_

* * *

 _Yuko...I love you. But I can't be with you. If I were to tell you the truth, you would hate me and that hatred would drive me to despair. I can't do anything but to give you up to another man…_

 _But is this what I really want? Everyday, jealousy builds up within me that it's so hard to resist in taking you away. It shames me, but it's my true feelings. I don't want anyone but me to be with you. Even if I may not know how many prayers, risks, and sacrifices I will have to make, I want to stay with you. Oh God, please let me…I beg and beg._

 _ **I hope for our happiness.**_


End file.
